1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention pertain to the processing of video data.
2. Background
Universal media access (UMA) is expected to be important in the next generation of multimedia (e.g., video and audio) applications and devices. A fundamental concept of UMA is universal or seamless access to multimedia content, with the content being automatically selected and/or adapted for use on a user's device following the user's interaction with the device.
Mobile phones, for example, can be used to retrieve, view and transmit multimedia content. However, while the capabilities of mobile phones continue to increase, such devices are still somewhat limited relative to more powerful platforms such as personal computers. Data transmission and retrieval rates may also be a factor. The amount of video data is usually more of a consideration than the amount of audio data.
A video summarization technique can be used to generate a still-image storyboard that summarizes a sequence of video frames. The storyboard is composed of a relatively small number of representative frames—also referred to as key frames—extracted from an underlying video sequence that is composed of a much larger number of frames. Video summarization techniques can be important for UMA because they can be used to summarize video content for easier retrieval and transmission. That is, because key frames represent a much smaller amount of data in comparison to an entire video sequence, key frames can be more readily distributed and shared between limited-capability devices such as mobile phones.
There are a variety of different video summarization techniques in use. However, each of these conventional techniques is problematic in one or more ways. In general, one problem with conventional techniques is that they are complex and can consume a significant amount of computational resources in order to process the large volume of video data. Attempts to limit complexity often mean that information that may result in a better selection of key frames is not considered.
Accordingly, a method and/or system that can improve key frame selection, without overwhelming computational resources, would be advantages. Embodiments described herein provide these and other advantages.